12.27.2009

reflecting july to december

i can't believe we are finishing up the year. i just can't believe it. looking back has felt really good. i see a fullness that i could feel, even if sometimes it was in the back of my mind, it was still there. i hope you all have had time to think about some good.

julyi had completely forgotten about this night. i was trying to capture some fire flies with my camera for my friend charlotte who has never seen any. char, i promise to give it another go this summer.

phoenix came to town and had a totally spontaneous and FREE secret concert at the record bar. it was worth every second of the two plus hours we stood in line waiting to get in. plus i made friends with the club photographer. he was wearing a kilt. sweet.

a room full of ladies, drinks and make-up. if you would have told me ten years ago that that was how i would spend my birthday i would have laughed in your face. i have since learned the value of all things feminine. and i love it. and i love gina.

you know those "pick up where you left off" kind of friends? i really like them. even better, i like spending the day at the spray park with them and rounding things off with a porch sit and popsicles. next time bozemans, it will be in nyc. right? augusti have learned that any old anniversary (number eleven) can be extra special if you have a dinner date AND a breakfast date the next morning. twice as nice for sure.

big day. huuuge day. collette starts kindergarten. watch out people, there is no stopping this girl.

ok, so if i can't have make-up for my birthday then i want a birthday dinner like rachel's. she took her dinning room table and plopped it in the middle of the back yard. we watched the sun go down, listened to the kids running around and talked by candle light. so great.

two of my favorite people getting married. outside. it was beautiful and made my heart hurt. keep rockin' it toby and maureen.

septemberthis was a fantastic day. the day i saw my name and photograph printed on a collection of polaroid notes that anyone can buy at the store. at the store people. yeah, it still feels good.

september, when you give me lazy late summer days, i love you almost as much as june. and that's sayin' something.

what is there to say? my three kiddos at my favorite park. done and done.octoberthe leaves finally start to fall, and arlo starts collecting. she's still not into the jumping like the other two.

but that eliot. he's pretty much all about the jumping. leaves just make things a bit softer.

eliot insisted that we check out the civil war battleground announced on the sign that we saw along the highway. we need to do that sort of thing more often.

pretty much the perfect fall day, and grandma just happened to have some kites on hand.

novemberthe last few months of the year found me traveling quite a bit for work. it was hard on our schedules, but i was able to make up for some of the stress by having a dinner date and night walk with my friend shari. it was lovely to meet her in person, as i knew it would be.

being land locked in kansas, i'll take any opportunity to see the ocean. even if it means a 45 minute drive to maine, to spend 15 minutes on the beach, and then drive back 45 minutes to the airport. next time maine, i'll get in at least a whole day.

decemberthe first day of december was insane this year. sunny and in the 50's, maybe even in the 60's. i'm not sure what that means, but we decided to capitalize on it anyway and hit the playground.

i don't do much christmas decorating. i think about it, but you know how it goes. i do have a few special things that come out once a year, this pine cone being at the top of the list.

fortune smiled on me and i was able to be in town for eliot's first christmas program at school. i laughed and laughed. maybe i wasn't supposed to, but with all those fidgety kids how could i not?

and here we are. nearly the end of the year. we came home the day after christmas to 13 inches of snow and fat flakes coming down. i'll take just a few minutes to think about how pretty it was, and that's about it.

have a fun (and safe!) new year's eve wherever you are. i'll be dancing my booty off at the party of the century, third year in a row. still on a last minute hunt for the perfect pair of pumps. keep your fingers crossed.

Hot diggity DAMN. I haven't sworn in, sheesh, eight, ten years? But those pictures just rocked my world. And I didn't even see the first half of the year until I went to leave a comment. Can't possibly look until next week. M